School Board discusses funds, programs

Budget issues were then discussed, with special education funding in particular facing decreasing government grants to support staff and materials. Gallagher reported after the budget discussion that attendance was excellent for the first orientation day of the high school and middle school students, with 123 out of 127 middle school students registered showing up.

Gallagher also noted that he was proud of Lakeview’s English Language Learners program, helping those students who speak English as a second language eventually integrate into regular classes. He says the program is seeing success despite not meeting Oregon’s difficult Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives, which measure a school’s progress within the Language Learners program.

The Board then approved a request for a grant from the Reser Foundation of $250,000 which would be used to complete the upstairs north wing of the DMS building, and add an elevator.

The meeting concluded with approval for Ann Crumrine and Suzy Larson, assistant coaches with the Lakeview high school volleyball program, to split a stipend provided to assistant coaches.

Lake County District #7 School Board met on Monday, Sept. 9, to discuss updates on the Innovation and Learning Center project, the Student Mentoring program and the district’s special education programs. In particular, Todd Gregory of Obsidian Renewables offered a proposal and plans for a solar power array that would help provide for the Learning Center’s future power needs.

One of the first items of business was the reading of a letter from the Collins-McDonald Trust Fund that stated the Fund will provide $50,000 for overages on the seismic retrofit of the Daly Middle School building. This was followed by a letter that will be sent to Gov. Kitzhaber, requesting his presence for the opening of the Learning Center. District Supt. Sean Gallagher hopes to be flexible enough with the scheduling of the opening that the Governor will be able to make an appearance.

The new student planner was then passed around for the board and other attendees to examine.

Lynnette Wells spoke at the meeting about the status of the Educational Service District’s student mentoring program, which now has 28 mentors and 29 mentees, with five mentors going through a training process. This will be the second year of a team mentoring program, which sees an average of 10-17 students participating in team mentoring nights.

Wells said that everything they’ve done is meant to be a learning experience for the kids, but by far the most popular activity is building rockets, which will take place next April.

Christy Tveit then gave a report on the Lakeview Klamath Community College and Learning Center programs. The Learning Center will be offering three confirmed classes taught by a live instructor in the Daly building, said Tveit, Writing 121, Math 121 and a Student Success class. Local instructors will be Emma Cornell, Susan Albertson and Loni Chavez.